Altar Of Flies – Let New Life Rise In The Face Of Death

I'm listening to this record and thinking how should I start writing about Arv & Miljö. Finally I examine the cover more carefully and understand that I won't need to write about it. Altar of Flies is also from Sweden, the guy behind it is also Mattias, and both projects are from different circles than CMI and co. etc. This disc is a bit expanded version of the previous tape under the same title, released by Hästen & Korset, belonging to Altar of Flies' Mattias. These are tape experiments with field recordings, voices, touches of contact microphones, loops and other kind of analog. These are experiments, but it seems they are well thought over, a bit cautious and sounds dark, assured and interesting. Disc is divided into 5 tracks with playing time of almost an hour. I cannot compare the record in tape and this release, but even though it's in digital format, nevertheless distant, soft analog blanket lulls you from the very start of the album in a ghostly audio material. When the Intro started to get into graspable shape, we jump to the longest, title track, named after Will Oldham song. It's multilayered field recordings with running water, ambience, voices, pitched down to incomprehensible (when a dog becomes a man, and a man becomes a dog), loops, sort of synth hum and other colors. The most appreciated thing is that the artist does not overuse sounds and moods and they constantly evolve further. In parts it sounds so melancholic as if watching your own childish games via VHS and there are parts where sound is so cold and callous. Light games with sounds do not create very catchy atmosphere, but it's a nice track. "I have no memories" starts with most likely the noisiest part of the album. Noise develops until you are left stuck forever in several tape loops, with no memory of what happened before, slowly becoming a part of cold industrial ambient in the last but one track. Somewhat repulsive sounds and uncomfortable vibrations from speakers while you travel to explore contact mic feedbacks. The title track seemed so varied, colorful and full of various moods and two others - choking and anxious. But that's good. Album is closed by Anagrams, which was recorded together with Joachim Nordwall from iDEAL (well known label from Sweden). It seems that we are returning to more colored sound - synths, field recordings, voices and other components in a solid track with slight hints of academic music. Overall? You must concentrate on this record only while listening to it or it will be lost in the background of everyday sounds. Maybe not exactly my cup of tea, but it got me wondering about other releases.